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Effective Blind Spot Mirrors for the Chrysler Pacifica

While I have no experience with any of the wheelchair conversions, I've been driving my 2019 Chrysler Pacifica since February. Overall, I have been extremely satisfied with its quality, design, and performance. The one thing I wish they would have designed a little differently are the outside mirrors...

Although it may not look all that small at first glance, the shape of the glass, blind spot warning triangle, and thickness of the surrounding cowling combine to leave precious little real estate to attach the types of blind spot mirrors that will provide an accurate, minimally distorted, view of potential traffic that could be traveling in the adjacent two lanes.

Blind spot monitoring is of particular importance to me. I live on the west side of Cleveland, work on the east side, and my daily commute entails mostly expressway driving during rush hour. For those familiar with the area, I get on I-90E, take the Inner Belt Bridge to Dead Man's Curve, then take the East Shoreway to University Circle. There are a couple of places each way where I must merge at speed into congested traffic and promptly perform a couple of lane changes with very limited time and space. At the same time I'm trying to get three lanes over to the left, many of the motorists in the left lanes are trying to enter the right lanes before they reach the downtown exits.

The key to minimizing stress or anxiety when doing this is to maintain one's speed. When I have an opportunity to go, I need to be able to go decisively. In the late autumn and winter months, I must be able to do so at night or in inclement weather. I can't just angle my mirrors out more to cover my blind spots because I need to see the sides of my van for reference. At work, I have to I back into parking spaces in the parking garage where there may be an adjacent column. At home, I back the entire length of my driveway to park in the garage. I need to simultaneously know that I'm clearing the garage on my right as I go by my wife & daughter's cars parked on my left.

Prior to the Pacifica, I drove a 2007 Honda Accord and a 93 Camaro Z28. In both vehicles, I used a Brookstone interior blind spot mirror on the driver's side and a stick-on rectangular wedge shaped mirror on the right outside mirror. While I was pleasantly surprised to find the Pacifica's acceleration was actually comparable to either vehicle, I initially lacked the confidence to put that acceleration to use going to work because the Pacifica's blind spots are so large. The interior rearview mirror only shows traffic that is visible through the rear hatch window (not the rear right quarter). Because you sit higher in the Pacifica, the right sliding door obstructs the view of any low profile vehicles that may be traveling beside you on the right.

What about those blind spot sensors? While the warning triangles on the mirrors may make lane changes safer for motorists who have no idea that blind spots exist, they aren't sufficiently reliable to depend on when maneuvering through congested traffic. They do not always provide warning if a vehicle is closing in a few MPH faster or if somebody traveling two lanes over plans to change into the same lane as you.

I have always preferred interior mounted blind spot mirrors because they provide an exceptional view without interfering with the left outside mirror. They are also unaffected by rain droplets or dried road salt residue that can accumulate on a stick-on exterior mirror over time. Unfortunately, the thickness and angle of the Pacifica's A pillar makes it difficult to mount this type of mirror. The only place to securely attach it is the windshield. To get the mirror into the correct position on the other side of the A pillar, the gooseneck needs to be fairly long--much longer than any mirrors I have used previously.

The gooseneck is just long enough to get to the opposite side of the A pillar where the mirror can be positioned to provide an accurate, minimally distorted, view of the blind spot. In this pic, I stopped so that the yellow column is in my blind spot (click on image for larger view)...

I was extremely happy I found this mirror because it makes rush hour merges so much easier. It allows me to change lanes or merge onto the expressway and keep tabs on any traffic two lanes over without having to turn my head (which could increase the chances of not detecting a vehicle stopping unexpectedly in front of me).

Coming up with an effective solution for the right side of the van proved even more challenging. Because the blind spot on that side is so vast, the mirror has to provide a lot of coverage without distortion. A handle on the A pillar prevents an interior blind spot mirror from being attached to the windshield. If an exterior mounted mirror is round or too convex, it will pull in many other vehicles which do not actually pose a threat. Since the Pacifica is a fairly wide vehicle, a stick-on exterior mirror can also seem like its a long ways away from the driver.

For me, the key was to fit the biggest wedge shaped rectangular mirror possible in the allotted space. The best solution I found was the MaxiView HD Metal Lense 360 Blind Spot Mirror. At $29.95, it wasn't cheap, but at least you get two mirrors.

The arrow shows where I added a couple of drops of Super Glue to keep the ball from coming out of adjustment when I fold in the mirrors and go through the car wash.

Not only does it swivel provide fine tuning, the swivel also provides enough offset to clear the cowling surrounding the mirror panel. The Maxi-Mirror is just big enough to give me a detailed, at-a-glance, view of my blind spot so that have the actionable information I need to determine whether I can safely change lanes (click on image for larger view)...

I was shocked at Chrysler to see your first post on this topic. Your mirrors and blind spot complaint sound like me a few years ago when we took possession of our used 2002 Rollx Grand Caravan. What? they haven't redesigned the mirrors yet? How does anyone drive these things? Pacifica mirrors look so much like my old 2002 mirrors, I can't believe what they were thinking.

I love that Herbert mirror you found, not so much the right side though. I started my retrofit on the right side, liked it so much, did one for the left. Wasn't easy due to the curvature and looks kinda Micky Mouse, but it's an old and very functional van. Sorry, not a good pic.

Attached Images

Last edited by nonoise; 07-28-2019 at 06:58 PM.

I have had periodic paralysis all my life. I lost my ability to walk in 2011 beginning with a spinal block, which was used for a hip fracture caused by periodic paralysis.

Another minor annoyance which is easily fixed is the chrome trim along the bottom of the air conditioning vent. It takes any bit of sunlight and projects a reflection of itself on the side window glass where it is directly in the driver's line-of-sight for the mirror. Fortunately, a small strip of electrical tape will eliminate the reflection.

Another minor annoyance which is easily fixed is the chrome trim along the bottom of the air conditioning vent. It takes any bit of sunlight and projects a reflection of itself on the side window glass where it is directly in the driver's line-of-sight for the mirror. Fortunately, a small strip of electrical tape will eliminate the reflection.

How you liking the gear shift knob and parking brake, is it a button? I am jealous of both being left handed with right hand controls.

I have had periodic paralysis all my life. I lost my ability to walk in 2011 beginning with a spinal block, which was used for a hip fracture caused by periodic paralysis.

How you liking the gear shift knob and parking brake, is it a button? I am jealous of both being left handed with right hand controls.

It's taking a little getting used to. I do like the fact that it goes automatically into park if forget to shift it myself before stopping the engine.

The one thing I need to find out is whether I could shift it into neutral if it started accelerating out of control for some reason. I learned to do the "neutral slam" back when I was a driver rehabilitation specialist.

It's taking a little getting used to. I do like the fact that it goes automatically into park if forget to shift it myself before stopping the engine.

The one thing I need to find out is whether I could shift it into neutral if it started accelerating out of control for some reason. I learned to do the "neutral slam" back when I was a driver rehabilitation specialist.

I asked about the shift knob because it looks small. It seems to me a larger one would be easier to hit the correct gear. Speaking of which, your "neutral slam" reminds me of a time I was trying to baby a buick that had been overheating. So on the downhill stretches I would slip her into neutral. Except one time, I missed and hit reverse, skids and all. That brick took the beating, and got me home. I did have to trade it in later to the junk yard for parts though.

I have had periodic paralysis all my life. I lost my ability to walk in 2011 beginning with a spinal block, which was used for a hip fracture caused by periodic paralysis.

There is virtually no rear quarter Vision out of my GTI so I made a bigger mirror out of quarter inch reflective Lucite and now I can see everything behind me. Only problem is it doesn't dim for headlights now But it's easy enough to adjust it if someone follows me with their highbeams.
It extends pretty far into the zone of the drivers visor but the only downside of that is that when the visor is down, it covers the extension.

I use these on my GTI to get out past the deep lip of the mirror. They stick out around 1/2", which is enough. They're about 2" in diameter, so they leave plenty of room to see / use the rest of the mirror.

I use these on my GTI to get out past the deep lip of the mirror. They stick out around 1/2", which is enough. They're about 2" in diameter, so they leave plenty of room to see / use the rest of the mirror.